ReadingGrrls Paper Safari

Title:   438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin Publisher: Atria Format: ebook was received from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages: 288 pages Genre: non-fiction Synopsis:  On November 17, 2012, Salvador Alvarenga left the coast of Mexico for a two-day fishing trip. A vicious storm killed his engine and the current dragged his boat out to sea. The storm picked up and blasted him west. When he washed ashore on January 29, 2014, he had arrived in the Marshall Islands, 9,000 miles away—equivalent to traveling from New York to Moscow round trip. For fourteen months, Alvarenga survived constant shark attacks. He learned to catch fish with his bare hands. He built a fish net from a pair of empty plastic bottles. Taking apart the outboard motor, he fashioned a huge fishhook. Using fish vertebrae as needles, he stitched together his own clothes. He considered suicide on multiple occasions—in...

Title:   Grave of Hummingbirds by Jennifer Shutelsky Publisher: Little A Format: ebook received through amazon prime Pages: 204 Pages Genre: Mystery This title will be released January 1, 2016 Synopsis:  In the remote Andean village of Colibrí, a boy discovers what appears to be the body of an angel. But in the face and wounds of the dead, winged woman, Dr. Gregory Moreno sees something even more disturbing: an uncanny resemblance to his beloved late wife that cannot be mere chance. And in American anthropologist Sophie Lawson, still more echoes of the doctor’s lost love stir…igniting the superstitions of the townspeople, and an elusive killer’s deepest desires and despair. When Sophie vanishes, her son and Dr. Moreno must navigate the streets, politics, and mysteries of a place where tortured ghosts and strange omens exist side by side with mortals both devout and corrupt. But they may need nothing less than a miracle to save her from sacrifice at the altar...

Title:   A Grimm Curse (Grimm Tales Book 3) by Jana Jennings Publisher: Patchwork Press Format: e-book received through netgalley.com from publisher in exchange for an honest review Pages: 174 pages Genre: YA, Mystery This title was released on November 20, 2015 Synopsis: An orphan girl befriends an enchanted frog while her cursed stepsister plots revenge in a twist that can only transpire in a fairy tale. Lady Wellington’s obsessive quest for a crown for one of her daughters has ensnared Cynthia and her musical talent in her scheme. Cynthia turns the nightmarish concert into a gesture of true friendship in an attempt to reverse the curse of a frog prince. Attempting to be invisible to her abusive stepfamily while sidestepping the arrogant prince, Cynthia searches for an understanding princess to change Remi back to his rightful form. Things do not go as planned when Remi disappears, leaving their friendship in his wake. Meanwhile, the single-minded Prince Wilh...

Title:   Tough Justice: Exposed (Part 1 of 8) by Carla Cassidy Publisher: Harlequin Special Releases Format: advanced e-book sent to me from the publisher through netgalley.com Pages: 85 pages Genre: Thriller/Mystery This title will be released January 12, 2016 Synopsis: A new job. A new case. A new criminal…? Special Agent Lara Grant  will do anything to get her mark—until her last undercover case, infiltrating the notorious Moretti crime ring, forced her to get close to the top. Way. Too. Close… Now starting a new job in New York City, all Lara wants is to leave the ghosts of her past behind. Until a dramatic sniper attack leaves Lara's face – and real name – all over the media. In the blink of an eye, her cover is blown, her identity exposed. Then a woman's body is found, branded with the ritual Moretti tattoo. Someone knows who Lara is… and exactly how to make her pay … Part 1 of 8 in a chilling, high-octane FBI thriller TOUGH JUSTICE from NYT...

Title:   The Innocent: A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel by Taylor Stevens Publisher: Broadway Publishing Format: Paperback Pages: 352 pages Genre: Mystery Thriller Synopsis:  Eight years ago, five-year old Hannah was spirited out of school and into the closed world of a cult known as The Chosen. Ever since, followers of its leader have hidden the child and shielded her abductor. Now, childhood survivors of The Chosen who have escaped to make a life for themselves on the outside know here to find Hannah and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help. Munroe reluctantly takes the job, and travels to Buenos Aires to infiltrate the cult and save the girl. Inducted in to a world unlike anything she has faced before, Munroe must navigate unpredictable members and their dangerous cohorts, the impatient survivors who hired her, and the struggle against her own increasingly violent nature so she can rescue the child before the window of opportunity closes and Hannah is lost forever...

Title:   My Girlfriend's Pregnant!: A Teen's Guide to Becoming a Dad by Chloe Schantz-Hilkes Publisher: Annick Press Format: protected epub - received from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages: 129 pages Genre: Parenting, pregnancy, adoption, abortion, fathers This book was published August 2015 Synopsis:  Based on interviews with teenage dads, social workers, and medical professionals, this book explores: What it's like to discover that your girlfriend is pregnant What to expect during pregnancy and childbirth The experience of parenthood--both positive and negative How involved the role of a teen dad can be How parenthood can affect young relationships The stress of being a teen dad The impact of abortion and adoption on young fathers. Review: This is one of the only books I've read that focuses on the father.  Most teen pregnancy books are written from the mothers perspective, and I really appreciate the...

Title:   Friday Night Bites (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 2) by Chloe Neill Publisher: NAL Format: paperback Pages: 368 pages Genre: Fantasy Synopsis:  Ten months after vampires revealed their existence to the mortals of Chicago, they're enjoying a celebrity status usually reserved for the Hollywood elite. But should people learn about the Raves--mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle--the citizens will start sharpening their stakes. So now it's up to the new vampire Merit to reconnect with her upper class family and act as liaison between humans and bloodsuckers, and keep the more unsavory aspects of the vampire lifestyle out of the media. But someone doesn't want peace between them--someone with an ancient grudge... (82) Review: Merit is back standing sentinel for house Cadogan. Torn between Morgan of House Nararre and her Master Eric Sullivan. Merit has a secret, she seems to have not fully integrated into a vampire, in fact the va...

Title:  Some Girls Bite: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel by Chloe Neill Publisher: ROC Format: Paperback Pages: 352 Genre: Fantasy Synopsis:   They killed me. They healed me. They changed me. Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but I was doing fine until Chicago’s vampires announced their existence to the world. When a rogue vampire attacked me, I was lucky he only got a sip. Another bloodsucker scared him off and decided the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead. Now I’ve traded sweating over my thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred-year-old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude—and servitude. Right… But someone’s out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches? My initiation into Chicago’...

Title:   Autobiography of an Assassin: Part One: The Here and the Now by MT Hallgarth Publisher: Troubadour Publishing Format: advanced e-copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review Pages: 273 pages Genre: Mystery Thriller This title was released on Aug 28, 2014 Synopsis:   Beneath a seemingly pleasant and unpretentious façade lurks a ruthless predator... A narcissistic sociopath! Martin has an unusual life – he works as an assassin, having killed his first victim when he had only just turned sixteen. After fleeing to Belgium, he finds himself recruited by a mercenary organisation, more commonly known as ‘La Légion’. Given a new identity, Martin is taken to Morocco to undergo extensive training... training that is frequently brutal and bestial. In Vietnam, Martin is recruited into ‘Section 9’, a covert organisation with the British Secret Intelligence Service. Upon discovering they want Martin to become an assassin, fate interv...

Title:   Mailbox: A Scattershot Novel of Racing, Dares and Danger, Occasional Nakedness, and Faith by Nancy Freund Publisher: Gobreau Press Format: advanced ebook received from publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages: 232 pages Genre: Fiction, coming of age This title was release May 10, 2015 Synopsis:  The Drue family moved from New York to Small Town, USA in the '70s, and they may never fully fit in. Thirteen-year-old Sandy's parents encourage her curiosity, her imagination, and her challenge of social conventions - but not without cost. Sandy and her brother are now learning about horses, cows, swimming pools, and guns. An artist and intellectual, their mother feels like she's hosting foreign exchange students who never leave. Sandy loves the idea of this - both hosting foreign students and traveling the world. As a start, she begins writing letters to distant friends and to the universe, seeking answers to the biggest quest...

Title:  A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries) by Charles Finch Publisher:  St. Martin's Press Format: e-book received from the publisher from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages: 324 Pages Genre: Mystery This title was released on June 26, 2007 Synopsis: Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The grand house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and though Prue had dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by the motive for the girl's death. When another body turns up during the London season's most fash...

Title:   Anything For Amelia: A true story of the challenges endured by two gay men who had the desire to adopt a child. by Andrew C. Branham Publisher: First Edition Design Publishing Format: Kindle Pages: 209 pages Genre: Adoption, memoir, lgbt Synopsis:  A true story of the challenges endured by two gay men who had the desire to adopt a child. When Andrew and DJ decided to adopt and bring a child into their lives, little did they know what they were about to endure; yet never did the thought cross their minds to give up. The horrific, pitilessly, and beyond comprehensible hoops one woman would make them jump through demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that little Amelia was going to be much better off in the loving home that Drew and DJ could provide her. Just when you think, how can two people survive such a nightmare and the journey is just about over when little Amelia is born and will be safely in the arms of her loving dads, Sandi decides to pull one ...

Title:   Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata Publisher:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers Format: Kindle Pages: 256 pages Genre: Adoption Synopsis:  Eleven-year-old Jaden is adopted, and he knows he’s an “epic fail.” That’s why his family is traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt a new baby—to replace him, he’s sure. And he gets it. He is incapable of stopping his stealing, hoarding, lighting fires, aggressive running, and obsession with electricity. He knows his parents love him, but he feels...nothing. When they get to Kazakhstan, it turns out the infant they’ve traveled for has already been adopted, and literally within minutes are faced with having to choose from six other babies. While his parents agonize, Jaden is more interested in the toddlers. One, a little guy named Dimash, spies Jaden and barrels over to him every time he sees him. Jaden finds himself increasingly intrigued by and worried about Dimash. Already three years old and barely able to speak, D...

Title: How Open Should My Adoption Be?: Levels of Openness In Adoption (Guide to a Healthy Adoptive Family, Adoption Parenting, and Open Relationships Book 3) by Russell Elkins Publisher:  Inky's Nest Publishing Format: Kindle Pages: 50 Genre: Adoption, Synopsis:  This book is part of a four book series that can be purchased together as an ebook set. An open adoption relationship can be scary! Open adoption means that an adopted child has a relationship with his or her biological family. But just how “open” should that relationship be? There is nothing in this world like an open adoption. Because of that, it’s hard to foresee the many different scenarios that will come. You do your best to plan ahead, but you’ll still find yourself in situations you hadn’t fully considered. Should you connect with your child’s birthparents on social media? Should you allow face-to-face visits? How often should you share photos and letters? This book cannot answer these types ...

After a few years of writing book reviews here at New Paper Adventures, I felt I needed a change. The blog remains the same only the name has changed, slightly.  It is now Paper Safari: ReadingGrrls adventures into the magical world of books.  You can still find us here at newpaperadventures.blogspot.com or you can use our new url www.readinggrrl.com (yes that is two rr's and no i in Girl). I hope you keep following, commenting and reading!

Title:  Which One of You is the Mother?: The Absolutely Positively True Adoption Story of Two Gay Dads by Sean Michael O'Donnell Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Format: Kindle Pages: 130 pages Genre: Adoption, LGBT Synopsis:  After fifteen years of up-all-night gay disco dance parties, Sean O'Donnell and his longtime partner Todd decided to trade in their leather chaps for mom jeans and start a family. In August 2012 the not-so ambiguously gay duo walked into a Pittsburgh-based adoption agency and said, "We'd like a child, please." For the next several months they attended parenting classes, subjected themselves to probing FBI background checks, and completed enough paperwork to reforest the whole of the Amazon River basin. Despite lacking a magical baby-making vagina the pair successfully made omelets without eggs when in July 2013 they flew to Oregon to meet their seven-year-old son for the first time. No longer Sean and Todd they would now be fore...

Title:   A Blossom of Bright Light (A Jimmy Vega Mystery Book 2) by Suzanne Chazin Publisher: Kensington Books Format: e-galley received from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages: 368 Genre: Mystery This title was published on October 27, 2015 Synopsis:  A split-second decision thrusts Detective Jimmy Vega into the epicenter of a disturbing case when a body is found near a gathering place for immigrants in upscale Lake Holly, NY. The cold-bloodedness of the crime and the innocence of the victim torment Vega. But so, too, does the feeling that he's to blame. Or is he? Could the ravings of a delusional vagrant hold the key to the killing? And if so, why can't the police locate him? In a community gripped by fear of deportation, Vega needs the help of his girlfriend, activist Adele Figueroa, to gain people's trust. But Adele is acting strangely, consumed by a secret that threatens to tear them apart. When the case takes a...

Title:   In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption by Rhonda M Roorda Publisher: Columbia University Press Format: Paperback Pages: 352 pages Genre: Adoption, race Synopsis:  While many proponents of transracial adoption claim that American society is increasingly becoming "color-blind," a growing body of research reveals that for transracial adoptees of all backgrounds, racial identity does matter. Rhonda M. Roorda elaborates significantly on that finding, specifically studying the effects of the adoption of black and biracial children by white parents. She incorporates diverse perspectives on transracial adoption by concerned black Americans of various ages, including those who lived through Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era. All her interviewees have been involved either personally or professionally in the lives of transracial adoptees, and they offer strategies for navigating systemic racial inequalities while affirming the importance of black co...

Title:   God and Jetfire: Confessions of a Birth Mother by Amy Seek Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux Format: Kindle ebook Pages: 353 pages Genre: Adoption, Birth Parents, memoir Synopsis :  God and Jetfire  is a mother's account of her decision to surrender her son in an open adoption and of their relationship over the twelve years that follow. Facing an unplanned pregnancy at twenty-two, Amy Seek and her ex-boyfriend begin an exhaustive search for a family to raise their child. They sift through hundreds of "Dear Birth Mother" letters, craft an extensive questionnaire, and interview numerous potential couples. Despite the immutability of the surrender, it does little to diminish Seek's newfound feelings of motherhood. Once an ambitious architecture student, she struggles to reconcile her sadness with the hope that she's done the best for her son, a struggle complicated by her continued, active presence in his life. Review: Amy Seek writes a gutwrenc...

Title:   Ghostboy, Chameleon & the Duke of Graffiti by Olivia Wildenstein Publisher: Createspace Format: e-book from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages: 319 pages Genre: YA, Teen Synopsis:  Cora Matthews, the principal’s gloomy goth daughter, is not exactly popular Duke Meyer’s type. Still, Duke finds himself inexplicably drawn to her dark eyes and mysterious manner. She makes it clear she doesn’t return his admiration, but when a burst appendix lands Duke in the hospital, he and Cora will be forced to come together by the most unlikely intermediary: her eight-year-old brother, Jaime. Duke learns Jaime has brain cancer and little chance of long-term survival. He admires the kid’s plucky positivity and wild imagination and offers to write a story about Jaime’s make-believe superheroes. So begins an epic tale—that of Ghostboy, Chameleon and the Duke of Graffiti—and a deep friendship between Duke and Jaime. Despite their o...

Title:  Pop Goes the Weasel: A Detective Helen Grace Thriller (A Helen Grace Thriller) by MJ Alridge Publisher:  Penguin Group Format: advanced e-copy was received from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages: 416 pages Genre: Mystery Thriller This title is due to be released October 6, 2015 Synopsis:   A man's body is found in an empty house.  A gruesome memento of his murder is sent to his wife and children. He is the first victim, and Detective Helen Grace knows he will not be the last. But why would a happily married man be this far from home in the dead of night? The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse: a serial killer preying on family men who lead hidden double lives. Helen can sense the fury behind the murders. But what she cannot possibly predict is how volatile this killer is—or what is waiting for her at the end of the chase.... Review: Detective Helen Grace and her co-worker Charlie are still s...

Title:  Ruined: (A Decadence after Dark Epilogue) by M. Never Publisher:  Amazon Digital Services Format:  Kindle Pages:  102 pages Genre : Erotica, romance, BDSM Synopsis:  ***Content Warning*** Claimed is a dark erotic romance. Please pay close attention to the use of the words dark, erotic, and romance. It has intense sexual situations, a Master/slave relationship, mild abuse and some violence. Reader discretion is advised. Kayne Roberts. Kayne Rivers. Kayne Stevens. No matter his name, one fact remains the same. He's the man who enslaved me, ensnared me, claimed me and ruined me...For all other men that is. My life. My love My happiness. All belong to him. I belong to no one but him. He owns me. And I own him. (68)Review:  The finale to the Decadence After Dark series, a very satisfying ending to this series.  Once again it is smoking hot and well done. Will Kanye and Ellie have children? What will happen to thier relation...

Title:  Claimed (Decadence after Dark Book 2) by M. Never Publisher:  Amazon Digital Services Format:  Kindle Pages:  269 pages Genre : Erotica, romance, BDSM Synopsis:  ***Content Warning*** Claimed is a dark erotic romance. Please pay close attention to the use of the words dark, erotic, and romance. It has intense sexual situations, a Master/slave relationship, mild abuse and some violence. Reader discretion is advised. With one look he consumed me. With one touch he marked me. With one kiss he owned me. With one whisper he claimed me. Ellie Stevens thought she had moved on from the domineering man who abducted her. Now living in Hawaii and following her dreams, no one is going to keep her down. But things aren't always as they seem. Kayne Rivers reluctantly let Ellie go, but just because she's gone now, doesn't mean she'll be gone forever. She is his, and he won't stop until he's reclaimed her as his own. (67)Review:  I had some prob...

Title:   Owned (Decadence after Dark Book 1) (A Decadence after Dark Novel) by M. Never Publisher: CreateSpace Format: I received an advanced E-book copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review through netgalley.com Pages: 237 pages Genre : Erotica, romance, BDSM This book is due to be released in paperback on Oct. 3, 2015  but you can download a kindle version now.  Synopsis:  ***Content Warning*** Owned is a dark erotic romance. Please pay close attention to the use of the words dark, erotic, and romance. It has intense sexual situations, a Master/slave relationship, mild abuse, and some violence. Reader discretion is advised. Ellie Stevens has lusted over Kayne Roberts since he first walked into the import/export company she works for a little over a year ago. As Expo’s most important client, Ellie has always kept a safe distance from the man with the majestic blue eyes - until temptation finally gets the better of her. Impulsively, El...